1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric lawn mower of a walking type in which a lawn is cut by rotating a cutter or blade arranged on the lower face of a cutter housing, by an electric motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such an electric lawn mower is well known by specifications of U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,244 and French Patent No. 2,039,175.
In the electric lawn mower described in the above specification of U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,244, the grass cut by the cutter is left on the ground as it is. Therefore, it is necessary to collect the cut grass after the lawn is mowed. The electric lawn mower described in the specification of French Patent No. 2,039,175 has a discharge port for discharging the grass cut by the cutter in a right side portion of the mower body. Therefore, the cut grass can be collected if a grass bag is mounted at this discharge port.
When the grass bag is arranged on a side portion of the mower body, the grass bag tends to come in contact with obstacles during the lawn mowing. Accordingly, it is desirable to arrange the grass bag at a rear portion of the mower body. The running direction of an electric lawn mower of a walking type, is changed in a state in which a handle is pushed down and front wheels are lifted from the ground. Accordingly, it is desirable to set the position of the center of gravity of the mower body to be close to the rear wheels. Therefore, it is necessary to arrange the battery which is a heavy object, near the rear wheels. However, when the battery is mounted on the rear portion of the mower body and the discharge port for the grass is arranged in the rear portion of the mower body, the overall height of the mower body is increased. In contrast to this, when the overall height of the mower body is reduced, no opening area for the discharge port can be sufficiently maintained.
Further, the electric lawn mower has an electric motor for driving the cutter, the battery for supplying power to the electric motor, a controller for controlling an operation of the electric motor, etc. Accordingly, it is necessary to arrange a cover for protecting these devices from rainwater and dust. In the electric lawn mower described in the above specification of U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,244, a clearance is formed between the cover and the electric motor, or is formed at a lower edge of the cover. Therefore, a problem exists in that the rainwater and the dust cannot be completely stopped. In the electric lawn mower described in the above specification of French Patent No. 2,039,175, the electric motor, etc. are completely covered with the cover, but no structure for opening and closing this cover is considered. Therefore, a problem exists in that it is complicated to open and close the cover to maintain the mower.